Is India Becoming the Next IT Giant?

One of the fastest growing industries in India, the country is now poised to become a global leader in technology. In 1984, Texas Instruments opened its facility in India, opening the doors for an expansive tech boom to take place. Since then, the country has seen a great deal of economic growth within the technological export market, causing other world business leaders to take notice.

Indian Technology Exports Are Growing

The list of technology exports has expanded quite a bit in India over the past several years, increasing from less than four percent in 1998 to over 25% in 2012. Almost 90% of India’s exports are from the Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Chennai, Noida, Prune, and Mumbai. While this unique export has spread across, the country, the three cities leading the way in technology are:

Bangalore. While many Americans may not be regularly talking about Bangalore, they should be. Locals have come to know it as the Silicon Valley of India as it has become home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world. Although it used to be known for its farmlands, the city now produces 1/3 of India’s IT exports and has become one of the primary global information technology hubs of the country.

Hyderabad. Hyderabad has become the major IT and support hub in India, and large multinational companies are setting up roots in this prime location. Microsoft has placed their first development center in the heart of this Cyber city, and many other large tech giants such as TCS, Wipro, and Infosys are following suit.

Chennai. The third largest exporter of IT services is Chennai, and it has become one of the leaders in backup operations within the country. One of the large IT giants, Cognizant, also runs its Indian headquarters out of this tech-savvy city.

India has taken over quite a bit of the technology universe, and they have mainly found their niche within IT and other support services. The main jobs that have been dominating in the country include:

Software Support, Installation, and Customer Service. This includes some of the many call centers that Americans have been accustomed to speaking with when their systems are on the fritz. It also encompasses systems integration, training and education related to software, and many processing systems.

Data Processing. When companies need to digitize a ton of files quickly, Indian businesses can be an excellent place to turn to. Many specialized companies are able to quickly transcribe medical records, perform remote maintenance, and complete other back of office operations that are time consuming for one person to complete.

Visual Effects. While Bollywood is notorious for their booming film industry, the Indian market also has a large hand in the American film business. Rotoscoping, which is the process of “cutting out” background or foreground elements from footage, can be time consuming and expensive for highly paid American artists to complete. Many studios and smaller boutique visual effects facilities have begun sending this work to India for cost effective output and fast turnaround.

The Indian Advantage

Individuals who are not actively following the technology industry may be wondering, “why India?” When it comes to exporting technology, American and European based companies have found cities like Bangalore to be cost effective solutions to their problems. The Indian workforce is incredibly young, educated, and intelligent. Most of them also actively speak English in a relatable capacity. Furthermore, these smart, hard working employees are available at less than a quarter of the salaries paid to US workers. This has led Indian tech giants to bulk hire countless people over the past few decades.

In addition to providing a low cost solution for many countries to outsource some of their IT systems, the technology sector has provided many new employment opportunities to its residents. According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian tech boom directly employed about 2.8 million people in 2012. Indirectly, the business was noted to employ even more, ultimately affecting the careers of an additional 8.9 million individuals.

Current Challenges for the Indian Tech Market

While the road to technological success has long been paved for India, there are a few factors standing in their way of becoming the largest global tech leader. As the Indian market continues to grow, they are also facing competition head on from other globalized countries that have started taking part in the worldwide technology surge, including China and the Philippines. Network speeds and coverage are also far slower in India than some of the other up and coming tech countries, which may cause them to unintentionally lag behind.

In addition, a few growing pains are to be expected with any new business plan, and many Indian companies are certainly experiencing them. While countless American companies are outsourcing their low level work to the country, many of them are not taking the time to set up an extensive and long-term infrastructure. While some Indian businesses are beginning to cultivate the high-level talent that is required to design and implement these systems, many are not yet up to the task.

Where Does India Need to Go From Here

One of the main ways that Indian companies can continue to grow as a tech giant is by altering their business plan. The country has begun to perfect their customer service and low level IT abilities, but Indians have not yet focused their energy on generating their own products. By focusing on training individuals for higher end work, they would be able to expand their workforce and talent pool exponentially.

Another way that India could edge their way into the innovative sector of technology is by offering additional services in the cloud sector of the computing universe. With mobile computing continuing to rise, many companies are seeking low cost solutions for cloud backup. With their extensive experience in completing offsite backups, Indian technology could be poised to further expand their services to this growing development.

With so much economic growth and job development taking place in India over the past few decades, the world will continue to watch them develop as a country and a technological leader in the not so distant future.

Writer, Blogger & Social Media Ne'er-Do-Well. A former member of the board for the Graphic Artists Guild and co-chair of the GAG Professional Practices Committee. I write for global blogs on business practices, ethics, technology, social media, QR codes and Augmented Reality.

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